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\title{\LARGE{\emph{Into the Gilded Classroom}}\\ \large{\emph{and the Powercoins of Wonderland}}}
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\begin{correct}
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\chapter{A Black Hole}
``The ancient Romans put an image of an ox upon their early coins. Our own word \emph{capital} goes back through the French to the Latin \emph{capitale}, meaning cattle.''\\
Ms. Teazley noticed several of her students were by now thoroughly disengaged. The attention of children blazes a path of its own.
\\
Alice herself had lost track of the lesson a long time ago. She was doodling in her notebook drawings of coins, all kinds of coins. Some engraved with queens and kings, others with serious looking men with beards, animals and birds, and of course, embroideries. How much more fun it would be, she imagined, if coins were large like wheels. People could run with them using sticks to roll them. And golden ones could be used on automobiles of rich people. And the queen would have coins with rubies and sapphires.\\
\\
And as she doodled and daydreamed, the pencil slipped from her hand and fell under the desk. So down bent Alice to look for it. Pencils, as you know, have this notorious habit of rolling into the farthest corner. And this one was no exception. As Alice looked and looked for her pencil, she could hear Ms Teazley talking about coins and kingdoms. Alice now had both hands on the back-and-white tiled floor to support her awkward position as she craned her neck and peered under the desks. Thinking it such a great amount of effort for such a small thing as a pencil, she resolved to pull herself properly back into her seat, but as she was doing just that her hand brushed over the pencil and started it rolling again. It did a little semi-circle arc over to a black tile, teetered there for a moment, and then fell into it.
\\
Imagine a black hole in a classroom! thought Alice to herself. That could explain all the things that children lose at school. And stranger still, Alice noticed, was that if she peered just right, she could see down through the black hole into the classroom on the floor beneath, whose benches and desks shone like gold and silver with rubies and sapphires.\\
\\
Curious, Alice went down on her knees to get a closer look of the gilded classroom. Whether the hole grew bigger or Alice grew smaller was hard to say. For the very next moment, Alice lost her balance fell right in. "Help!" she cried out, hoping someone would grab her. She sure didn't want to fall and hit the benches and bruise herself. But it was already too late. So she covered her face with her hands as she fell.\\
\\
Falling, falling , falling...... several moments passed. But Alice never hit the benches. So she slowly uncovered her face to see what was happening to her, only to find herself floating in the air. Her pencil was floating right next to her. So she put it in her pocket. Then, looking up, she saw the hole through which she had fallen. Ms. Teazly was holding her hand out to reach her, and all her classmates were crowded behind Ms. Teazly. Alice tried to reach out and grab Ms. Teazly's hand.\\
\\
But Ms. Teazly's hand seemed to recede farther and farther away. And the faces of her classmates were getting smaller and smaller.\\
\\
"I must be falling", said Alice to herself, " .. and this classroom falling with me!" \\
\\
And she was probably right. For by now, Ms. Teazly's hands were nowhere to be seen and Alice could not make out where the hole was in the ceiling. It had reduced to a dot and disappeared.\\
\\
"Well, I will go out through the door and take the stairs back to the classroom", decided Alice, still floating around like an Astronaut.
\chapter{Wonderland}
It had been a while since Alice had been in Wonderland and she wondered if things had changed. After all, she had changed \emph{quite} a bit herself. She knew a lot more than she used to know, and she was quite curious if she would find Wonderland as interesting as she once did. You see, things which interested Alice when she was little, no longer did. In fact, she found most of those things quite boring.\\
\\
But here she was in Wonderland burning with curiosity. Is the wise caterpillar still alive, smoking his hookah? What about the Mad Hatter, and Humpty Dumpty, and all the smart and dumb creatures of Wonderland? As she walked down the pathways and woods, she looked under leaves and peeked into tree hollows. No, there was nobody in sight. A little disappointed to not easily discover the Wonderland she had remembered, and a little afraid that she might never discover it again, Alice nevertheless continued to look. Where \emph{was} everybody?!\\
\\
As she sat on the edge of the pond, almost having given up on the search, she thought she heard some sounds across the hill. Alice picked her satchel and scrammed in the direction. \emph{At last! At last! She will find all her friends!} She hadn't realized \emph{just} how much she had missed them.\\
\\
As she climbed over the hill, she saw not one, not two, but all of them! And she saw something she had never seen before in Wonderland - a \emph{beautiful} building with resplendent gardens and a picture perfect lawn,  with a fountain the likes of which she had never seen before. Struck with wonder (this was \emph{Wonderland}, after all), Alice climbed down the hill and toward the building. All the animals were going into the building themselves, discussing with each other, with an air of apparent concern. Some had briefcases in their hands, others had pamphlets of some sort.\\
\\
\emph{What are they concerned about? Is this the Queen's new palace?} Alice couldn't \emph{wait} to find out.\\
\\
By the time Alice reached the building, everyone had already entered and the big door, almost ten times as tall as Alice, was shut. Using a ladder that she spotted, Alice managed to reach the knob and tried to turn it every which way she could, but it just wouldn't open. Not ready to give up so easily (this is \emph{Alice} we are talking about), Alice started walking around the building to find a window she could climb into. The windows were large and stately, with embroidered glass panes and artistically folded beautiful silk curtains. Unfortunately for Alice, they all seemed to be locked from the inside. Going from window to window, Alice finally found one which was unlocked. Quickly, Alice pushed it open, threw her satchel in and in an instant she was inside herself. Dusting her knees and slinging her satchel over her shoulder, Alice took off her shoes so she wouldn't make any noise and started making her way to................. she had no idea! What was this place \emph{anyway}? If this is the Queen's palace, where \emph{are} all the guards?\\
\\
Walking down the carpeted marble hallways, Alice peeked into the rooms which had doors that were unlocked. They looked like offices of some sort. Some had book shelves, other had tiny furniture, some were spotlessly clean, others a mess. Here and there in the hallway were paintings and a few sculptures. As she walked around exploring the building, she nearly \emph{forgot} that she was there looking for her friends! Climbing up and down large, spacious winding marble staircases, glancing through rooms and looking out of windows and over balconies, Alice could finally hear someone giving a speech of some sort. Making her way toward the direction of the sound, Alice soon found herself in a large observer balcony. Below her was a big assembly room with light flooding in through the large glass windows, plush auditorium seats, a podium with a seal and a royally carpeted stage.\\
\\
She could see the Dormouse on the podium making a speech of some sort. All the animals were seated in the auditorium seating. Some were taking notes, others were napping. Many looked like they wished they were somewhere else. Unfazed by all this, the Dormouse was giving what appeared to be a very spirited speech, at times emotional, pointing a finger to the air as if to make a point.\\
\\
And behind the podium, in the center of the stage, sat the Queen on a jeweled throne, fanned by two ceremonially uniformed geese.\\
\\
\emph{Oh! How beautiful she looks}, Alice thought to herself as she stood with her elbows resting on the balcony railing.\\
\\
 Her silk dress was perfectly embroidered, her tiara sparkled as she moved her head, and her shoes were made as if of feathers.\\
\\
She didn't appear to be paying much attention to the Dormouse's speech either. Suddenly, the Dormouse's speech ended and he started thanking the listeners. Some clapped and cheered, some whistled and there were a few boos. At this point, the Queen started to speak.\\
\\
"Thank you, Mr. Dormouse. Those were indeed very fine points. And now .......... \textbf{\emph{Alice?!!!}}".\\
\\
\emph{Startled} to see the Queen looking at her, Alice, hardly knowing what to do herself, in a reflex all of its own, \emph{curtsyed} and said, "Yes, your Majesty, the Queen!"\\
\\
"\textbf{Alice!} \emph{What are you doing here}?!"\\
\\
By now the Dormouse's speech was forgotten and the hall had burst into a loud chaos, as all the animals rushed out of their seats to look up at the balcony, eager to see if it was \emph{really Alice}.\\
\\
"It's Alice!"\\
"Boy, has she grown up!"\\
"Its such a pleasure to see you again!"\\
"Where have you been!"\\
"When did yoy arrive?!"\\
\\
Next thing she knew, Alice found herself on the stage, satchel and all, holding the Queen's hands, and surrounded by a chaotic chorus of the citizens of Wonderland trying to speak to her, all at once.\\
\\
After Alice had greeted and hugged  them all, the Queen took her by the hand and announced, "We are all so delighted to see Alice, and I am sure we all have many things to talk to her about. Alice will stay with me and tomorrow we will have a  brunch at the palace for all of Wonderland... \emph{come one and all}!" \\
\\
As everyone cheered and \emph{yoo-hoo'ed}, Alice accompanied the Queen to her carriage, walking down the red carpet that the geese rolled out for her as she walked. The carriage looked like a royal pumpkin with glass windows and  hand-embroidered curtains and harnessed to a flock of snow white geese. A white rabbit with pink eyes held the reigns and grinned at Alice as she got into the carriage.
\chapter{The Queen's palace}
Soon enough they were at the Queen's palace. There were mirrors everywhere. A pig dressed as a butler got busy bringing the Queen her palace shoes, and a bevy of maids attended to the her every need. Finally the Queen sat at the large dinner table and a kitchen team of tuxedo-clad fishes and frogs started serving dinner. Alice was famished by now and the grand serving of perfectly presented soups, salads, entr\'ees  and desserts made her forget all about Wonderland as she gave herself to the pleasures of the royal cuisine.\\
\\
Her race to the third serving of cr\'eme br\^ul\'ee was finally interrupted by the Queen.\\
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"Tell me, Alice, how do you find Wonderland?"\\
\\
Snapping back to reality, and wiping her face of crumbs, Alice, a little embarrassed, regained her attentive self.\\
\\
"Very pleasant, your Majesty. I am delighted to be here again."\\
\\
"And what else?"\\
\\
"Well, your majesty, it seems to be different this time."\\
\\
"Maybe because you are older?"\\
\\
"That. . . and also. . . there seems to be something else. . ."\\
\\
"What, Alice?"\\
\\
"Well, everyone seems to be getting along so much better."\\
\\ 
"Maybe you just caught us on a good day."\\
\\
"Maybe so. But.. look at this, we seem to be getting along so well."\\
\\
"Do you miss the quarrels, Alice? I know \emph{I} do!" And, saying that, the Queen had a hearty laugh.\\
\\
Picking up her drink, she continued, "You see it all started with the power coins."\\
\\
Alice was starting to get interested.\\
\\
"You remember how I was always annoyed with the animals for not following my rules. And they were always annoyed with me for coming up with unacceptable rules. And I was constantly sending the army out on them. And all this was getting, oh, so tiring."\\
\\
"So we decided there must be some other way. For me to get what I want and for them to be out of my way."\\
\\
"Then the caterpillar thought and he thought and he said we should use power coins."\\
\\
"Power coins?", said Alice, never having heard such a thing before.\\
\\
"They are like money. You can count how much power you have."\\
\\
"And what would you use them \emph{for}?", asked Alice, quite sure this was just another one of the Queen's silly games.\\
\\
"For buying laws, of course! What \emph{else} would you use power for?!"\\
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"You see, where I come from, laws are \emph{made}, not bought." replied Alice, quite proud.\\
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"But they have to be \emph{bought} before they can me made.", the Queen argued, beginning to feel a little annoyed, "Just like you \emph{buy} a wedding cake before it can be made."\\
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"I say wedding cakes are \emph{ordered} before they are made, not \emph{bought}.", asserted Alice.\\
\\
"I say it is the same thing, whether you pay \emph{before} or \emph{after}!"\\
\\
Alice started to ponder that in her head - it \emph{did} seem to make sense.\\
\\
Sensing a victory, the Queen got up from her table, ordered the pig to show Alice to her room and walked away. The maids went after her, holding her bed time tea and gold rimmed glasses in a silver tray.\\
\\
Alice found herself following the pig through a broad hallway to the guest rooms. She saw scrabble letters all over the wall. At one point, the pig stopped, looked at the letters for a bit, then spelled the word "K-N-O-B". A knob appeared in the wall where the word had been. Turning the knob, the pig showed Alice her room. Alice found that delightful, and looking around for what else could be spelled, she (\emph{foolishly}) spelled "S-E-R-P-E-N-T".\\
\\
The serpent tried to enter the room, but the pig stepped on him  with his hoof as he held the door open for Alice. This scared Alice a bit. Closing the door behind her, she looked for something she could club the serpent with if he showed up again. She saw a crocquet bat in a corner, but when she picked it up, it turned into a flamingo and flew away through the balcony. Looking around to see what else she could use, Alice pushed the couch against the door.\\
\\
 Satisfied at having taken care of the serpent problem, Alice got into bed and very soon was sound asleep.\\
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\chapter{The Brunch}
Alice woke up to the sun shining in through the balcony and into her room. Outside she could hear a lot of activity. Looking over the balcony, she saw all the animals eating and talking around a large table laid out with fruits and drinks. The queen sat at the head of the table. Some of the animals had climbed on the table.\\
\\
Alice quickly washed up and wearing the prettiest dress in the closet, hurried down to join her friends.\\
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Everyone was delighted to see Alice. There were screams of "Good Mornin'" and "Howdy" as Alice, with a broad smile, took her seat in the middle of all the animals. Conversations began, changed courses and ended in jokes and laughter. There was political satire and back slapping humor, clever anecdotes and observant remarks.\\
\\
Round and round  it went and then someone mentioned power coins. \\
\\
That made Alice realize she never really got the full story from the queen the evening before. So she raised her hands, and gesturing a call for calm, said, "OK! I want to know all about the power coins!"\\
\\
At once there was a chorus of voices, each trying to explain the power coins.\\
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"One at a time! One at a time!", implored Alice.\\
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"My turn first.", said Aabeceedee, the tin soldier, "It should be alphabetical by the first name."\\
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It particularly suited him, and everyone agreed.\\
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So Aabeceedee started, "You see, we needed a way to manage the power in Wonderland. So we had this idea..."\\
\\
"\emph{I} had the idea.", corrected the caterpillar, as he took a long drag from his hookah.\\
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"Well, an idea was had, doesn't matter how or by whom. Such is the nature of ideas.", added the March Hare.\\
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"Please go on.", said Alice, impatient to hear the details.\\
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"My turn!", said the Bumble Bee, who always dressed like a little school girl, "We wanted to be clear how much power the queen had.."\\
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".. and we wanted to somehow limit her use of it." added the chipmunk, a little irritated.\\
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Now it was the dodo's turn. Clearing his voice, he said, in a rather grave tone, "The queen had coins made to represent all her power. As she spends them, she has less and less of them. So she has to be careful how she spends them."\\
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"Until she has no coins left, and then she has more of them made.", explained the Eagle.\\
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Then there was silence.\\
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Alice tried to make sense of this, but it just didn't seem to make any.\\
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"If the queen can get coins made whenever she runs out, what use does it serve?", asked Alice, puzzled.\\
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More silence. Nobody had any answer.\\
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Finally, the queen, starting on an ice tea, broke the ice, "You see, I distribute some of my coins to them every time I make new ones. Why, each one of them has got \emph{three quarters} of a coin this year. That is a \emph{lot} of laws they can buy!"\\
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"How can they buy any laws if they don't have even a whole coin?", Alice was puzzled, again.\\
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"Why don't you ask the caterpillar? He understands the whole thing better than any of us." recommended the queen.\\
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So Alice looked at the caterpillar. But he was fast asleep. She tried to wake him up, but it was of no use.\\
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Then the mad hatter and the march hare started throwing fruits at him. Most of them missed and the few that did land seemed to make no difference. The caterpillar just pulled a leaf over his face and was fast asleep again. So the mad hatter and the march hare, not ones to give up so easily, lifted him to the table and tried to stuff him head first into the tea pot. The dormouse tried to help.\\
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At this point, realizing that things were coming to an end, the queen declared the party over, thanked everyone and went back to her palace.
\chapter{The Tour}
Alice was unsure what to do herself. So she asked, half out of curiosity and half out of an attempt to distract attention away from the caterpillar, "So has anyone managed to buy any laws with their power coins? Besides the queen, that is?"\\
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"Oh, yes! Let me show you what we bought!", said Tweedledee.\\
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"Me too! I want to show you what I bought!", said the pigeon.\\
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Very soon, the caterpillar was forgotten, his head still in the teapot. And a chorus of animals all wanted to show Alice what they bought with their coins.\\
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"Tweedledee first!" said Alice.\\
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So Tweedledee and Tweedledum ran outside the gates and came back with their two-seater bicycle and several spare seats and wheels. There was a rush of excitement as all the animals immediately jumped into action to screw the seats and wheels together. In a moment, Alice found herself on one of the seats pedaling over and around the hills. Tweedledee and Tweedledum were seated in front of her, Joey the kangaroo behind her and the mad hatter behind him, whistling a tune. The other animals were sitting on shoulders of those with seats. The white rabbit was on the handle bars and a partridge was perched on Alice's head. A chimp would every now and then jump on and off and give the bicycle a push. The cavalcade made its way to a place with huge gates which seemed to open as if by magic when Tweedledee rang his bicycle bell in a peculiar rhythm.\\
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Jumping off the bicycle and putting it in a corner by the gates, Tweedledee and the animals led Alice into what appeared to be a huge amusement park. There were roller coasters and water slides, train rides and race cars, merry-go-rounds and giant wheels. There were all kinds of games and entertainment. Alice followed the animals as they led her from one place to another. At one point, high on the roller coaster, Alice saw a whole lot of tall and short walls, some twisted, others curved into strange shapes. "Humpty Dumpty's climbing gym", came the reply when she inquired about them.\\
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After several rides and games, Alice felt like she had had enough. So she laid down on the grass and closed her eyes, trying to catch her breath.\\
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She must have dozed off for a bit. For when she woke up, there was no one in sight. She looked at the gate for Tweedledee's bicycle, but it was gone too. Wondering where everyone had disappeared, Alice sat up and brushed the grass off her. She tried to decide if she should go looking for the animals or go back to the queen's palace. Maybe the queen has organized a game of croquet for the evening. Maybe she will get to see the king and the duchess. And all the courtiers. And all the children. They are probably grown up now. But it could be more fun to hang out with the animals, maybe there are still more new things to see in Wonderland.\\
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She was still deciding when she thought she heard a bubbling sound somewhere behind her. She turned around and saw a mushroom. And on the mushroom was the caterpillar smoking his hookah.\\
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"I didn't think I would find \emph{you} here!", said Alice, at once surprised, and at the same time glad to see someone around.\\
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"\emph{I} found you.", corrected the caterpillar.\\
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It really didn't matter to Alice who found who.\\
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"Would you know where everybody is gone?", she asked.\\
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"Same place as always after the play.", replied the caterpillar, matter-of-factly.\\
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"Where would that be?", asked Alice.\\
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The caterpillar took a puff of his hookah. Then replied, "The ice-cream place.", he sounded bored.\\
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"Let's go join them", suggested Alice.\\
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The caterpillar looked at her, as if in disbelief.\\
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Then after a period of silence, asked, "Don't you have anything better to do with your time?"\\
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Alice felt offended.\\
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"Well, I, for one, put a \emph{lot} of value on time spent with friends." she replied, then added, "Why? Do you have a better idea?". Alice, you see, was \emph{always} open to options.\\
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The caterpillar seemed to be thinking. He took several puffs of his hookah. There were long periods of silence. Then, finally, he spoke again.\\
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"Have you seen a garden grow?"\\
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Alice tried to think about it. She had \emph{seen} several gardens, very pretty ones too. But she had certainly not \emph{seen one grow}. It did not even seem possible.\\
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"I don't think I have. Why, they grow so slowly, one would have to spend all days sitting on the garden steps and looking at each flower and vine and plant and tree. And even then you wouldn't notice a thing. They certainly grow so \emph{slow}!"\\
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The caterpillar puffed another time from his hookah. Another silence. Then he spoke again.\\
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"In that case, I suppose you have never seen a forest grow either."\\
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Alice nodded in agreement. She was trying to remember if she had ever seen a \emph{real} forest either. She had spent an awful lot of time in the woods behind her grandma's house. But she didn't think they would count as a real \emph{forest}.\\
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Another puff of hookah. Another long silence. Then the caterpillar spoke again.\\
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"I have written a song about the woods."\\
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"You have!" said Alice, pleasantly surprised. She didn't particularly think of the caterpillar as a song writer!\\
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"The grasshopper has put a tune around it."\\
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"Oh! I would love to hear it!", said Alice, as she clapped her hands.\\
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The caterpillar looked pleased.\\
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"We can invite the grasshopper, if you like."\\
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"Oh! Please do!", replied Alice, ready for a song.\\
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So the caterpillar gave a yoo-hoo, and they heard a yoo-hoo back. Then there was a buzz of wings, and next thing they knew, the grasshopper was sitting on the mushroom, hand around the caterpillar.\\
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"Howdy, fella!", he said to the caterpillar. He was wearing a tourist like shirt, bermudas and sunglasses hanging on a neck cord.\\
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Then looking at Alice, he reached out his hand, " Howdy, Alice!"\\
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"Very well, thank you." replied Alice, shaking his hand.\\
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"Alice would like to hear the song from the woods.", the caterpillar announced to the grasshopper.\\
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"That's one hell of a song, I tell ya!", said the grasshopper, already tapping his feet in a rhythm, "Why, it was the biggest hit at the queen's croquet festival last year!"\\
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"Will you please sing it for me? Please!", asked Alice, excited.\\
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"Sure!"\\
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Then the grasshopper pulled a flute from his pocket, dusted it a bit, loosened up, took a position, and started to play it and sang the song:\\
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\begin{center}
Let me bring you soooongs from the wooooooood:\\
to make you feeeeeeeeeeeeeeel much better\\
than you could knoooooooooooooow.\\
Dust you down\\
from tiiiiiiiiiiiiiip to toe.\\
Show you how\\
the gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarden grows.\\
Hold you steady\\
as you gooooooooooo.\\
Join the chorus\\
if you caaaaaaaaaaaaan:\\
it'll make of you\\
an honest maaaaaaaaaaaaaan.\\
Let me bring you loooooooooooooove from the fieeeeeeeld:\\
poppies red and roses filled with summer rain.\\
To heeeeeeeeeal the wound\\
and stiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiill the pain\\
that threatens again
\\aaaand again\\
as you drag down\\
every looooooooooooooooover's lane.\\
Life's long celebration's heeeeeeeeeeeeeeere.\\
I'll toast you all in penny cheeeeeeeeeeeeer.\\
Let me bring you aaaaaall things refineeeeeeeeed:\\
galliards and lute songs\\
served in chilling ale.\\
Greetings well met fellow, haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaail!\\
I am the wind\\
to fill your saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaail.\\
I am the cross\\
to take your naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaail:\\
A singer of these ageless times.\\
With kitchen prose\\
and gutter rhyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyymes.\\
Songs from the wooooooooooooooood\\
make you feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel\\
muuuuuuuch better.\\
\end{center}
"Yaaay!!!" cried Alice, as she clapped her hands, truly appreciating the music.\\
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Both the caterpillar and the grasshopper took a bow.\\
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"Would you like to see a real forest?", asked the caterpillar.\\
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"I'd love to!", said Alice.\\
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So Alice picked up the caterpillar and put him on her shoulder.\\
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But the caterpillar was only three inches tall, and the sudden change in height from the mushroom to Alice's shoulder made him giddy from vertigo.\\
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So Alice nibbled a little bit of the mushroom till she was about a foot tall. This made the caterpillar feel more comfortable.\\
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And so they went to see the forest, with the grasshopper flying with them, at times ahead of Alice and at times behind her.
\chapter{The Forest}
The forest was large and green, with every kind of trees and plants, and creepers and grass. There were giant red woods and towering oaks, spread out maples and tall conifers. There were mango trees and papayas, palms and grape vines. There were mushrooms everywhere with different colors. Little saplings were sprouting out and flowers blooming. There were ponds and puddles here and there, clear springs and rivulets and brooks. There were birds chirping as they dashed from tree to tree. The bees were humming and collecting nectar.\\
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"It's beautiful!", said Alice.\\
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"A forest takes a long time to grow.", said the caterpillar, "First there has to be a place which has fertile soil where plants can take root. Then over many years, the trees have to grow. The wind and the bees and the butterflies have to help them pollinate and new plants have to take root and thrive and cover more ground. Bacteria have to recycle dry leaves and nourish the soil. Birds have to come in and find berries to live on. Little animals needs to find places to burrow and water streams to drink water from. The trees in turn shade and protect the birds and the animals and the streams. A balance has to set in between everything that lives and contributes to the forest. Predators have to come in to keep the growth sustainable. All this takes a very very long time over hundreds of hundreds of years!"\\
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Alice could appreciate the forest even more now.\\
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"Where I come from, you wouldn't find all these different varieties of plants all in one forest.", she remarked.\\
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"Why not?", asked the grasshopper, who was still around.\\
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"Because different plants need different climates and soil."\\
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The grasshopper found that curious. They had never heard of such a thing in Wonderland.\\
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"Also, we do not have very many forests left.", said Alice, sadly.\\
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"What happened?", asked the grasshopper, concerned.\\
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"Well, we like to build towns and cities. So we have to remove forests to make some space. We just create a little more space each time, but over time, the forests have disappeared", replied Alice, almost in tears.\\
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Both the grasshopper and the caterpillar felt sad for Alice, and tried to console her. They told her she could always come to Wonderland whenever she wanted to see the forest.\\
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Then the caterpillar spoke.\\
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"That could happen here too."\\
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This startled the grasshopper and he started to shake, the flute falling out of his pocket.\\
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"That is why," continued the caterpillar, "I am buying all the laws that protect the forests".\\
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"Yes!", the grasshopper cheered.\\
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"So how exactly do you buy laws? I know you don't even get a full power coin from the queen!", asked Alice, picking up the question she had left off at the queens brunch party.\\
\\
"We have to pool in our power coins", replied the caterpillar, "When we have enough power coins amongst us, we can buy the law".\\
\\
"Ah!", said Alice, beginning to see the process.\\
\\
"And how much does a law cost?", she asked, curiously.\\
\\
"It depends on the law.", replied the caterpillar, "It follows the principle of upside-down auction."\\
\\
Alice had never heard of such a principle.\\
\\
So the caterpillar started to explain.\\
\\
"You see, in a normal auction, if two people want the same thing, the cost of the thing naturally starts to rise. Until someone wins the auction."\\
\\
"Yes.", said Alice.\\
\\
"In an upside down auction, the more people want something, the less it costs."\\
\\
Alice was now thoroughly puzzled.\\
\\
So the caterpillar continued.\\
\\
"When all the animals want to buy the same law, it can be bought very easily. Like when they all wanted the ice cream place."\\
\\
This Alice understood.\\
\\
"But when some want to buy a law and others don't want them to buy it", continued the caterpillar, "the price starts to rise. The ones that don't want the law start using their power coins to block the sale."\\
\\
"Does that happen often?", asked Alice.\\
\\
"It is very rare.", replied the caterpillar, "It needs each side to give a lot of speeches at the discusserie, and they would rather not spend their time doing that. They prefer to buy laws that can be easily bought."\\
\\
"And what is a discusserie?", asked Alice.\\
\\
"That is the big building we were at yesterday. You gave a speech yourself, don't you remember?!"\\
\\
"Ah! That is what that was all about!", said Alice, finally beginning to see the pieces come together.\\
\\
"But,", asked Alice, never short on questions, "why can't everyone just buy all the laws they wanted? I mean, if I wanted to buy a law, and no one else wanted to block it, I should be able to buy it with just one power coin."\\
\\
"That is not possible. The queen sells only three laws in summer, two in winter, one in spring and one in autumn. So you have to discuss with all the other animals which laws to buy."\\
\\
"I see.", said Alice.\\
\\
"And the queen can always refuse to sell a law.", added the grasshopper.\\
\\
"I see!", said Alice, remembering the queen was not one to give up things so easily.\\
\\
"Only the hatter is mad enough to try to buy laws that the queen would refuse!", said the grasshopper, with a chuckle.\\
\\
"There seems to be quite a few rules around the power coins.", remarked Alice.\\
\\
The caterpillar seemed to think about it for a bit. Then he spoke again.\\
\\
"You need to make the rules carefully. Otherwise it will not work."\\
\\
" I bet.", replied Alice.\\
\\
"Let me show you something."\\
\\
And the caterpillar led Alice to a clearing in the forest. There was a door hinged to the ground. He opened it, and, holding it open for Alice, said, "After you."\\
\\
There was a labyrinth of winding wooden stairs lit by candles standing rather precariously on rusty holders.\\
\\
Alice climbed down the stairs, followed by the caterpillar and the grasshopper.
\chapter{The Library}
"What is this place?", asked Alice as they descended the stairs.\\
\\
"The library.", replied the caterpillar.\\
\\
The stairs opened into a large room with big book shelves holding hundreds of books. Each room seemed to lead to another in a maze of bookshelves and books. There were candles and chandeliers lighting up the place. There were little reading desks and wooden chairs, there were quilts and papers. Some of the bigger rooms had clocks on the walls (but they never seemed to agree on the time).\\
\\
"That is an impressive collection of books!", said Alice, "Wonder how you manage to keep them all organized."\\
\\
"That is easy. We organize them by size and color."\\
\\
"What?!", asked Alice, finding it rather ludicrous.\\
\\
"Where I come from, we organize them by title and author, and many other things. We use the dooey decimal system.", she said proudly, hardly sure she was saying the right thing.\\
\\
The caterpillar pondered about it. Then replied.\\
\\
"That will never work."\\
\\
"It does!", said Alice.\\
\\
"How would you know which \emph{exact} shelf and position to put a book? And you will never find a book that is mis-shelved!"\\
\\
"We do have that problem.", replied Alice, "We have trained librarians with degrees in library science to file books in proper shelves."\\
\\
The caterpillar found that queer. But he let it pass.\\
\\
Meanwhile, Alice was looking around, quite impressed by the sheer size of library and its collections. She saw a big section on aerodynamics and there were birds of all sizes poring over the books. Insects too. Another section, a clear hit amongst the fishes and turtles, was on fluid mechanics and oceanography. There was a humongous section on art and aesthetics which \emph{everyone} seemed to like, from butterflies to summer birds, lady bugs and fishes. Then there were specialized sections - electrochemistry for electric eels and fireflies, sonar for dolphins, night vision for cats, and she saw one on telescopic vision for the eagles. There was another massive section on nutrition describing fruits and flower nectars, medicinal herbs and hydration. There were sections on exercises and aerobics, weather and climate patterns, caves and shelters, camouflages and security. She saw a big section on architecture and travel for birds who were considering raising families or migrating.\\
\\
Then the caterpillar stopped.\\
\\
This was the twin sections of powerology and poweronomics. It had thousands of books, many were old and written on papyrus and stone tablets.\\
\\
"Powerology is as ancient as the universe itself.", said the caterpillar, "It is the fundamental laws of power that cannot be changed. Ignoring them is foolish."\\
\\
An ostrich, who was quietly reading in the corner, seemed annoyed as no one was supposed to talk in the library.\\
\\
But the caterpillar continued, "Poweronomics on the other hand, is flexible. It describes various ways in which you can manage power. The trick is to have a fair and stable poweronomy."\\
\\
The ostrich ssshhhhhheeddddd.\\
\\
But the caterpillar ignored him and continued, "I had to read and understand a lot before I could design the power coin rules."\\
\\
The ostrich threw a big fat book at the caterpillar to quieten him. But it narrowly missed.\\
\\
"A power coin system should not end up with all the coins with one person. That will not be stable."\\
\\
At this point the ostrich simply left.\\
\\
On and on went the caterpillar, using terms that Alice had never heard. She tried hard to keep track of what he was speaking, but in no time lost the thread. And soon, she was simply waiting for the caterpillar to finish.\\
\\
"A law cannot be bought", said the caterpillar, "which contradicts a law that has already been sold."\\
\\
Alice heard someone whisper is her ear, "\emph{And the moral of that is do not mess with the beehive unless you know what you are doing}."\\
\\
Alice turned around and it was the duchess.\\
\\
"\emph{How are you, Alice? They told me you were here}.", she whispered with a smile. She seemed to be in a good mood (and unlike the caterpillar, aware of being silent in the library).\\
\\
Between the caterpillar's lecture which Alice could not understand and the duchess whispering morals in her ear, it was getting awfully confusing. To add to it, the caterpillar would every once in a while fall asleep in his speech and when he was talking, the duchess would fall asleep on her shoulder. So, at one point, when they were both asleep, Alice decided to take a page from the Ostrich's book. She quietly slipped away, climbed the ladder to the ceiling and left through the window (because, you see, the windows were on the ceiling in this underground library).
\chapter{The Tea Party}
Alice made her way back to the ice cream shop. The animals were all there still finishing their ice creams. Some were lying on the ground. The mad hatter, who was also lying on the ground with his hat covering his eyes, was telling a story. It must have been a very funny story because every once in a while he would send the animals rolling in laughter.\\
\\
It was the chipmunk who first spotted Alice.\\
\\
"Alice is back!", he announced.\\
\\
Immediately, everyone was up and around Alice, even as the mad hatter continued to tell his story. He was clearly unaware of the change in situation. Until the march hare kicked him. This startled the mad hatter, and he got up.\\
\\
"It's Alice!", he announced.\\
\\
"Where have you been?"\\
\\
"To the library."\\
\\
"Oh, that boring place where no one can speak!"\\
\\
"It is quite nice, actually."\\
\\
"We want to show you something \emph{real} nice! What do you say, friends?!"\\
\\
With that the mad hatter turned to the other animals, with a wink.\\
\\
"YES!", came the chorus.\\
\\
Next thing Alice knew, she was back on Tweedledee's bicycle. This time the mad hatter was on the front seat, and all the other animals one on top of the other. For a change, she had the chimp on her head this time, balancing himself on one hand and then the other. Occasionally, he would fall off, then climb right back up.\\
\\
They reached a place which looked like an old church of some kind. The roof had been patched up with doors of different sizes. The entry door itself was hinged upside down. A neon sign on top flashed "The Tea Party".\\
\\
The mad hatter held the door open for Alice and bowed her in. Clearly, he was proud of this place, whatever it was.\\
\\
Inside everything seemed to be upside down. There were bottles of drinks hanging from the ceiling by springs into a bar. The white rabbit was serving drinks over the counter. There were high tables and couches all around. There was furniture even on the walls. On the pulpit was a garden lizard wearing sun glasses. In the center was a big turntable like a dance floor.\\
\\
"LET THE PARTY BEGIN!", declared the mad hatter.\\
\\
Instantly, there was chaotic music. The lights started flashing. The turn table started to slowly spin.\\
\\
Taking Alice by the hand, the mad hatter danced his way to the turntable. The disco lights came on and the music went up. There were screams and caps in the air as the other animals joined Alice on the dance floor. Soon everyone was jiving and dancing to the music the garden lizard played from the pulpit.\\
\\
"Ah! So this is the big secret!", said Alice to the mad hatter, who smiled in acknowledgment then started dancing the grooviest moves Alice had seen. Alice joined in the party showing off her moves and learning new ones. The music went higher and higher and the lights got more dazzling. Then the white rabbit brought a drink for Alice, "The Tea Party Concoction!", he announced. Alice, unsure if the drink would make her smaller or bigger, decided to give it a try anyways. Whatever it was, it made her feel more friendly, her thoughts became more lucid and she could dance all the more better for it.\\
\\
In all the dancing, Alice was having so much fun she quite forgot herself.\\
\\
Then at one point, she wondered what time it was and whether she should be heading back to the palace. She looked at the clock, but it seemed to be melting away. So she asked the white rabbit, "What time is it?", knowing well that the white rabbit always kept track of the time. "In here, there is never any time.", said the white rabbit.\\
\\
"What is the time \emph{outside}?", asked Alice.\\
\\
But she never got a reply, so she continued to dance away. She was having so much fun, she figured it didn't really matter.\\
\\
Then, all of a sudden, the music and the lights and the turntable all stopped.\\
\\
A pall came over the party.\\
\\
The mad hatter announced, "The party is over, friends. See you all next week , same time!"\\
\\
As the animals started leaving, Alice turned to the march hare.\\
\\
"Why stop the party? Everyone was having such a good time."\\
\\
"We bought the Cinderella law. It only goes on till midnight."\\
\\
"Oh, thats too bad.", said Alice.\\
\\
"We are trying to buy it for all night. But the queen won't sell."\\
\\
"I will find a way.", said the mad hatter with a smile and a wink.\\
\\
"\emph{He is very clever. He knows how to trick the queen.}", whispered the march hare to Alice.\\
\\
Saying her goodbyes, Alice made her way back to the palace. She was half afraid the queen would be angry at her for coming so late and missing dinner. So she tried to open the door quietly and tip-toe in. But the queen was awake.\\
\\
She was sitting on her throne, sword in hand.
\chapter{The Yoga class}
"You are late.", said the queen.\\
\\
Alice was startled. She explained to the queen how she went to the Tea Party where time melts away.\\
\\
"Oh, that awful place!", said the queen, "Why, I would never have sold that law if it were not for the duchess!"\\
\\
"The duchess?", asked Alice.\\
\\
"She said it would make the hatter less mad if I were to make a little concession. So I agreed. But the hatter is as mad as ever, and he is making the other animals mad too!"\\
\\
"Next year,", she added, " I am revoking that law".\\
\\
"You can do that?", asked Alice.\\
\\
"Of course I can! I sell laws for only a period of time. And after that the law must be bought again. I will not sell to that mad hatter ever again. And if the duchess so much as says a word, I will have her beheaded."\\
\\
And the queen waved her sword in the air\\
\\
That sounded rather extreme. So Alice decided to change the subject, hoping to calm the queen down.\\
\\
"Do you buy anything with your coins, your majesty?", she asked, in a friendly manner.\\
\\
"Sure I do. I buy the best things power coins can buy. \emph{I own most of them.}"\\
\\
"I would love to see them!", said Alice, curious as ever.\\
\\
"Well, get up early tomorrow and I will show you something you have never seen before!", offered the queen, her mood beginning to change.\\
\\
Then she got up and retired to her sleeping quarters. And Alice made her way back to the guest bed room.\\
\\
She set an early hour on the alarm clock (\emph{which turned out to be just a toad holding a dial}) and went to sleep.\\
\\
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\\
\hspace*{20 mm} * \hspace{20 mm} * \hspace{20 mm} * \hspace{20 mm} * \hspace{20 mm} *\\
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Alice woke up before dawn and joined the queen, who was wearing active wear. Alice had never imagined a queen in active wear before, but was quite impressed by how much in shape she was.\\
\\
"Are we going jogging?", she asked.\\
\\
"Not quite.", said the queen.\\
\\
Then she led Alice to the garden and out of the palace through a little gate. Then she started jogging with Alice following closely. Going over a few hills, they came to a large open meadow. There was a big lake and there were mountains in the distance over which the sun had started to rise. There were birds chirping and butterflies fluttering. It was quite a a pleasant dawn.\\
\\
Then the queen led Alice through some woods before it opened up again and they were very near the lake.\\
\\
Alice saw a huge circular platform of marble balanced on a single marble pillar at the center. A large sheet of glass seemed to be suspended in thin air at a slant, providing a roof for the platform. A spiral staircase on the pillar brought Alice and the queen to the platform. It was carpeted with the most beautiful patterns Alice had ever seen. In the center was a lotus pond. All around were little waterfalls providing acoustics which blended together the breathtaking view of the lake and the mountains.\\
\\
"What is this place?", asked Alice.\\
\\
"My new yoga center.", replied the queen, quite satisfied to see Alice impressed.\\
\\
Then a few more animals, all wearing active wear, appeared, followed by the instructor, who was a swan.\\
\\
"Care for a lesson?", asked the queen.\\
\\
"I would love to!", said Alice.\\
\\
Then at the instruction of the swan, they all took a meditative pose.\\
\\
Alice closed her eyes. But then opened them again a little to see the queen.\\
\\
'She looks so serene", Alice thought to herself.\\
\\
Then she closed her eyes again. And began to wonder, "\emph{Did the power coins bring the peace to the queen? Or did her peace bring the power coins?}"\\
\\
It didn't seem to matter which way she put it, because she could answer neither question.\\
\\
So she tried to focus on her meditation.\\
\\
When she heard a voice call out to her.\\
\\
"\emph{Alice!}", said the voice.\\
\\
It sounded vaguely familiar.
\chapter{Out of Wonderland}
"\emph{Alice!}", said the voice again.\\
\\
Alice slowly opened her eyes. The queen and the swan and the yoga center and the lake had all disappeared.\\
\\
Alice's eyes met those of Miss Teazly, who seemed to have asked her a question and was waiting for an answer. The other students were looking at her too, some giggling.\\
\\
"\emph{Oh boy, I must have dozed off again!}", thought Alice to herself, looking around at her friends, hoping one of them will clue her into what was going on.\\
\\
Then she saw Charlotte holding a paper at her with a question scribbled on it - \emph{What is numismatics?}\\
\\
"It is the study of coins and currency.", replied Alice.\\
\\
"That is correct. And try not for fall asleep next time.", said Ms Teazly, as she gave a stern look to Charlotte.\\
\\
There was a murmur of laughter in the class.\\
\\
\hspace*{20 mm} * \hspace{20 mm} * \hspace{20 mm} * \hspace{20 mm} * \hspace{20 mm} *\\
\\
\emph{Ms Teazly's economics class was so boring.}
 



\end{correct}

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